A video showing Oklahoma students allegedly licking toes at a recent high school fundraising event has generated controversy, prompting a state superintendent to call the depicted act “disgusting.”
In footage shared withFox affiliate KOSH, students (whose faces were blurred to hide their identities) appeared to be licking peanut butter off toes at an event on Thursday at Deer Creek High School in Edmond.
The event raised money for the nonprofit coffee companyNot Your Average Joe, which hires people with intellectual, developmental and physical disabilities, according to the outlet.
An unidentified parent told KOSH that she was stunned when her daughter told her about the event.
“‘Wait, what? They’re licking peanut butter off of toes. What?'” she said.
“I am all for fundraising and all for really fun and silly things, but that right there just seems a little excessive,” the parent added.
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“We want to stress to our community that much of the information accompanying this video is inaccurate,” the district said. “However, through this specific game we failed to uphold the dignity of our students and the proud image of our community. We have a responsibility to protect our Antlers and showcase them in a positive light. In regards to this one particular activity, we fell short and for that we greatly apologize."
“We are taking steps to ensure that this is not repeated,” the statement continued, “and that all fundraising activities are carried out with the pride and respect worthy of our students, staff and community. We strive to offer a positive experience for both our students and the charity that our annual fundraising efforts support. This is an important part of our WWF mission and will play an even greater role in future decision-making. Moving forward, we want to learn from this experience and do better in the future.”
According to the district, the fundraiser generated over $150,000 for Not Your Average Joe.
“We want to acknowledge the hard work and dedication of many of our students and staff that contributed to making WWF a week filled with activities and events designed to bring our community together,” the district’s statement added. “Our students who participated in the game in question, as well as those involved in all our other WWF activities, deserve our full support for their philanthropic intentions.”
“Thank you for standing with us and helping us to weather this storm and move forward together,” the district said.
The footage showing the alleged act ignited critical reaction on social media, including from Oklahoma State Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters,who shared the clip on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.
“This is disgusting,” Walsh wrote. “We are cleaning up this filth in Oklahoma schools. Our agency is investigating.”
In an interview with PEOPLE on Monday, Tim Herbel, executive director of Not Your Average Joe, said that he and his members of his organization were not present at the high school the day the alleged incident happened. Herbel also said that Not Your Average Joe was selected as the recipient for the school’s fundraiser and that he had no advance knowledge about the nature of the assembly that was captured on video.
“Not Your Average Joe is a nonprofit that exists to create an encouraging atmosphere for students and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities,” he says. But now, he says his employees “are getting threats.”
He went on to say that he believes the students “were simply trying to gross out each other” and never intended to cause any harm.
“But we don’t want that to be the end of the story. And I think that’s the thing for us is in my mind: education is not about getting 100% of the answers right on the test. Education comes when you learn from a mistake,” Herbel added. “And I think the students and the administration have that opportunity now.”
source: people.com
